The Gardener
by Aelan Greenleaf
Summary: A TPM AU. A gardener rescues a Jedi Master. ObiWan, QuiGon, Anakin. PART THREE UP 1120!
1. The Gardener and His Garden

**Title: The Gardener**

**Author: Aelan Greenleaf**

**Category: Drama**

**Rating: PG/K+**

**Summary: A TPM AU. A gardener rescues a Jedi Master. (Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon, Anakin)

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**Chapter One: The Gardener and His Garden

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It was amazing, how beautiful the new morning was. The twin suns of the solar system shone down their light onto the planet, warming the ground and the air. The usual wind had weakened into a mild breeze, and the clouds were no where in sight. People began to emerge from their domiciles, moving in the light, going about their day.

And he, the Gardener, went out to his garden.

He smiled to himself as he walked, nodding to those that passed by. His garden was not truly a garden; it was more a mosaic of plants and trees and flowers. It was an immense patch of land, upon which many things grew, things that were used for sustenance and for healing. Some grew beautiful and colourful, some grew with arms outstretched for the stars, some grew thorny and ugly, but he loved them all.

Entering the main complex, he grabbed his tools and jumpsuit, and quickly moved back outside onto the field. The others were already outside, the many of them, caretakers all the same. They waved to him as he walked; he waved back. Men and women, young and old, alien and human; the AgriCorps was anything but selective. Most were Force-sensitive, and were either not powerful enough in the Force for the Jedi or not chosen as a Padawan as younglings.

Except, of course, for the Gardener.

In essence, everyone in Ward Alpha was a gardener, but there was only one Gardener. It was a nickname he had acquired not long after his arrival on Paos II, given to him by his new co-workers. He had been on-world mere hours, when they had asked him to heal a dying plant in Ward Beta. Rare and very old, the _gardienne_ plant was the only source of the antidote for the Paos Flu. And it was dying.

It had barely taken him a minute, and those around him had been in complete shock. Touching the plant softly and gently, there had been a brilliant flash of light, and when they all looked back, the plant was in bloom, flowering and as red as the dying sun. And so, the Gardener he became.

He reached his section of the field, and began his work. Some would call it boring, uneventful, but he knew better. As a new worker, he too had found it monotonous and pointless, but the truth was, he was helping to feed and to cure the millions of people across the galaxy. By simply growing and caring for a life-form, he was able to contribute so much to the world around him. His work made him proud and happy.

The day passed quickly, as he passed through his rounds, feeding the trees and flowers, and healing the ill. Soon the twin suns had begun their eventual crash into the horizon, and he headed back to the complex, and to home.

Just like the morning had started, the day ended. People returned to their homes, to their spouses and to their offspring, laughing and talking and playing. The Gardener entered his home, and found the boy waiting for him.

"How was your day?" the child asked, blue eyes beaming.

He smiled back. "Wonderful. And yours? School is going well?"

The boy put his hands together happily. "I got top place in the Tech Competition!"

"So the robot worked?"

"_Droid_. He's a droid." he corrected, through his expression of pleasure never changed.

"Ah, yes. I could never tell the difference." The Gardener grinned. "Shall we eat?"

"I'm starving."

And the two entered the dining room, completely unaware that at the very same time, a shuttle was burning through the darkening atmosphere of Paos II, shooting down towards the ground below. A shuttle carrying someone who would change their lives forever.

Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi began their dinner, oblivious, as the tiny ship began its' crash into the cooling soil.


	2. Crash

**Chapter Two: Crash **

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Anakin Skywalker was an anomaly of sorts in the AgriCorps. He had never been an initiate, nor had he ever been scouted by the Jedi. He had been found as a slave on some planet in the Outer Rim, its' name now forgotten. A strange occurrence had left seventeen year-old Obi-Wan Kenobi with an infant in his arms.

The boy's mother had begged for them to take her son, to bring him to a better life, away from the slavery that he had been born into. Hers were tearful, crying for both the loss of a child and for the happiness that would be in his future. For a few credits, the AgriCorps obtained a new member, and a rarity: a baby.

He had been assigned to a family, cared for by a surrogate mother and father, but that hadn't worked. There was something wrong, something off. He was always sick, always crying, always pale and frightened. The medics, baffled, could find nothing wrong. Physically, at least.

And so, in a desperate last effort, they had called for the Gardener. Perhaps his skills with vegetation would be transferable to a human being. The youth had taken the child into his arms, and instantly, the boy was soothed. Happy, in the arms of the teenager, complete and calm. Obi-Wan had noticed how strong this child was in the Force, broadcasting waves through the calm current of the Unifying Force. Apart, they were unhappy. Together, they were a bright beacon.

The two had been close since, growing up together under the watchful eye of the community. Now, eating dinner in the home where they lived, they were at peace. A boy, a man. Not father and son, but not brothers. Something in between, yet, just as close.

Anakin looked up from his meal, face illuminated with a curious expression. "Can you hear that?"

Obi-Wan stopped chewing. "Hear what?" However, even as he said it, he could hear the strange howl in the dusk.

The boy rose from his chair and moved to the main door of the domicile. He ran outdoors, followed closely by a concerned Obi-Wan.

"Look!" pointed Anakin, as the howl grew louder, and more and more people emerged outdoors.

The young man looked upward, only to see a streak of yellow and red growing larger and larger, plunging down from the air. The object grew closer and closer, until it struck the ground in a resounding roar, just outside of the AgriCorps land. The emergency sirens rang, as the people scattered and the rescue vehicles were sent out. Anakin looked after them with curiosity and a tinge of jealousy.

"I wonder what that was. A spaceship, a starfighter!" His eyes lit up from within. "Maybe it's a Jedi!"

Obi-Wan's eyes darkened. The Jedi. "I don't think so, Anakin. Let's go back inside." He started back towards the home, a disappointed Anakin trailing behind.

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It was well into the night when a knock on the door and a yell brought Obi-Wan running down the stairs of his home and to the man who waited outside. His name was Dart Quinn, the head medic, and he was looking decidedly tried and ragged.

"We've run out of options, Obi-Wan. Please."

The young man could see the desperation in his friends eyes. "Of course, Dart. Give me one moment." He turned to the stairs, and as he expected, Anakin was there, watching and listening.

"You can't come." he said softly, already knowing what the boy's question would be.

Anakin's eyes said everything. "Please, Obi-Wan?"

He offered the child a small smile. "Trust me, Anakin, it is better to stay here."

There was something in Obi-Wan's eyes that made the boy shiver, and he held back his next protest. Instead, he simply offered a wave to his best friend, and watched as the two men left, heading for the Infirmary and what, he was sure of, was the most interesting thing Paos II had seen in a very long time.

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The Infirmary was a squat, drab building near the centre of the small AgriCorps community. Its' walls saw, at the most, a broken leg or insecticide poisoning. At night, it was always quiet, the two nurses simply patrolling the building, caring for the handful of patients sleeping inside.

Tonight, however, it was chaos.

News of the crash had funnelled in from various places, like most rumours and exciting pieces of information do. The doctor and the medics had been called in, most from their dinners or from their beds. As the rescue vehicles returned with their dying passenger, the Infirmary was undergoing a major upheaval, as the chairs were cleared away and the supplies prepared for the greatest emergency it had ever seen.

He came into the infirmary on a stretcher carried by two local men, unconscious and burnt and bleeding. There were blisters on his forehead from the intense heat of the crash, and various cuts and gashes were leaking red all over. His clothes, once complete, were now merely tattered and singed material barely holding together.

The nurses couldn't help but look away, as the doctor and his medics went to work. The damage to this human body was horrific, and it was unspoken between the three that it was miracle he was still alive. Peeling back the clothing that was like a second skin, they tried to heal their patient, using the best technology they had.

And yet, with every passing moment, he was slipping away.

Suddenly, hours or minutes later, the Gardener was there beside them, as quiet as the breeze. The doctor felt a burst of confidence and relief inside, because the Gardener was a miracle worker, and that was exactly was they needed.

The patient's face, the least injured part of the body, was covered in a cooling pad, but the rest was open to see. Arms once obviously strong now red and cracked; legs streaked with blood and dotted with open wounds. His chest took every breath painfully and with a certain finality; there was a mystery and a painful pause in between every intake of air.

Obi-Wan approached, and looked past the exterior trauma, placing his hands onto the injured's chest. A light began to glow in the Gardener's forearms, then palms, then fingertips. It spread through the man's frame, from torso to appendages and everything in between. The light brightened and enveloped both of them, healer and healing both.

And then it was over, suddenly and abruptly. Obi-Wan gasped for air, and his legs wobbled underneath him a bit, as he steadied himself on the corner of the bed.

Disbelief was evident in every facet of the second medic. "Vitals are normal, doctor. He's still unconscious though."

The Gardener answered. "He's in a meditative state." He met the doctor's eyes. "This man is a Jedi." Obi-Wan moved forward to remove the pad, and his legs threatened to give out on him once more. His outstretched hand failed to grab the edge of the table, and he fell back hard onto the floor.

"Obi-Wan!" exclaimed the doctor, and he quickly helped the young man to his feet. "What's wrong?"

He had turned pale, white and clammy. "It's not possible... no." He looked back down once more onto the patient's face, to confirm what he already knew.

Obi-Wan Kenobi stared down, and met the unconscious form of his former Master, Qui-Gon Jinn.

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**Next part will be several days in coming; these two first ones I had already written.** :) 


	3. Asleep

**Chapter Three: Asleep**

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Anakin Skywalker waited a long time for Obi-Wan to come home. He watched the moons rise in the clear sky above, and he watched as they reached their apex, then continued back down. He fell asleep on several occasions, waiting at the window for his friend's return. And while he slept, he dreamt. He had had the same dream for years, but it never ceased to worry and confuse him. And it always started off the same...

_The world around him was bare, as the harsh sand that was everything to be seen started to rise up in the blowing wind. Faster and faster, the sand spun, scratching him and getting into his eyes and mouth. He wanted to scream for help, but there was too sand, it was everywhere and he couldn't breathe... _

And then the dust cleared, for only a moment, and there was a woman standing before him, with chestnut hair and sad eyes. "Ani..."

That was when he would wake up, abruptly and covered with a slight sheet of sweat, breathing quickly. As always.

Anakin looked back outside, and with a start, saw a figure coming towards the house, walking quickly and with purpose. He knew it was his _vena_, returning from the Infirmary. The boy rose from his seat and moved to the door, waiting to hear what Obi-Wan had seen and heard of the thing that had fallen from the sky.

The door opened, and a hooded man came in, quietly. There was something strange around him, something Anakin couldn't explain. He could simply feel it. Any feelings of excitement dissipated, as a worry for Obi-Wan began to overtake him.

"What's wrong?" he asked, and the young man jumped, startled.

The young man smiled, almost. "I should have known you would still be up." His eyes looked dull and frozen.

"Obi-Wan?"

The Gardener sighed, and he moved into the living space, settling down onto one of the chairs and collapsing in a manner befitting those who are on the verge of exhaustion. "He's a Jedi, Anakin."

The boy couldn't help but grin. "He's a Jedi? So he's okay? What's he doing here?"

Obi-Wan looked away, and out through the window, staring at the quiet night before him. "He'll be okay. With time."

A silence followed. "There's something bothering you," said Anakin, perceptive as always, "Tell me."

Time passed so slowly, it seemed nothing was happening at all. "I... he's..." For once, Obi-Wan couldn't articulate what he wanted to say. There was too much Anakin didn't know; too much that he hadn't told the child. Too much from the past that he was not eager to revisit.

Anakin didn't say, or do, anything at all. He was good at waiting, when he wanted to be.

His _vena_ leant back into his chair and closed his eyes. "Do you remember when I told you how I got here, Anakin?"

Of course he did. "Yes." he answered.

"That may not have been entirely true."

Anakin's expression revealed his confusion. "How?"

The Gardener's face was pained, troubled. "I... I wasn't sent away to AgriCorps because I wasn't chosen as an apprentice. I was, for a while, a Padawan to a Master."

The boy's eyes grew large. "Really? You were a real Jedi?"

But the young man didn't smile. "Yes."

"And that man, that man in the Infirmary, he was your Master?"

Obi-Wan opened his eyes then, and looked back out into the great expanse. "A long time ago." And then he went vacant, and wasn't really there anymore, for a moment. Anakin's eyelids began to grow heavy, with the sleep that had yet to come.

"Time for bed, Anakin." said Obi-Wan, from far away.

And for once, the child listened.

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End file.
